Jean Paul Gaultier Le Male Popeye Eau Fraiche

Jean Paul Gaultier has been releasing Le Male flankers since the 1995 original became such a big hit. Until recent years, these flankers have mostly been slight variants of the original, but Popeye Eau Fraiche takes a big step in a new direction.

What makes Popeye Eau Fraiche noteworthy is not only that it’s a new direction for Le Male, but also a new direction for fresh scents. It’s not simply citrusy fresh, though the neroli adds a citrusy aspect. It’s not just herbal fresh, though the mint and sage add an herbal note. And it’s not simply fresh out of the shower, soapy-clean, though it has a dominant sweet soapy accord to it. It is an evolution of all those things — creating the perfect blend of freshness entirely new to the senses.

Finally, the iconic picture of Popeye the Sailor Man (wearing the trademark Jean Paul Gaultier striped shirt) featured on the bottle is a sublime representation of the strength and masculinity Le Male Popeye Eau Fraiche has to offer.BUY NOW $77.53 at Amazon.com

Related Reading

Thierry Mugler A*Men Pure Tonka

In 2016, Thierry Mugler introduced another winner to A*Men’s pure line of flankers: Pure Tonka. This time, the fragrance comes in a slick black flask, setting it apart from the more rubbery flasks the previous iterations were encased in. The bold new bottle design is fitting, as the scent holds the same DNA as the original A*Men but creates a distinct and dangerously beautiful fragrance.

Pure Tonka opens with a robust roasted tonka note, which, like the original A*Men, is harsh and can catch you off guard if you allow yourself to get overwhelmed by the top notes. Only a patient man will discover this fragrance's true value, because what comes after the harshness is nothing short of magical. Lavender softens the roasted essence. Then, notes of coffee and vanilla come out, blending effortlessly with the tonka to create a spicy and creamy latte. Finally, as the notes dry down, cacao stands out. This is a raw cacao that, blended with the tonka, coffee and vanilla, delivers a sensuous chocolate vibe. The contrasting rough top with a smooth base makes A*Men Pure Tonka a standout fragrance.BUY NOW $90.00 at Nordstrom.com

Related Reading

Tom Ford Neroli Portofino Forte

Encased in a viridian green bottle with gold plates engraved with its name, Neroli Portofino Forte is an invigorating new addition to Tom Ford’s private collection. The complexity and depth of this scent is evident from the initial spray. Opening with a crisp floral citrus accord, this fragrance is clearly much stronger than its predecessor, Neroli Portofino. The neroli in Forte is far more dense, adding a rare confidence to a cologne of this sort.

Replacing the light notes of mandarin and bitter orange that settled quietly in the original is a note of blood orange that creates a sharp contrast and bright balance to the scent. While Tom Ford’s Neroli Portofino Forte exemplifies the springtime freshness of a vacation on the coast of Italy, the richness of its fragrance makes it appropriate year-round — this cologne rightfully earns its place as a showcase scent of 2016.BUY NOW $290.00 at Nordstrom.com

Related Reading

Imaginary Authors Slow Explosions

As the name Imaginary Authors implies, Slow Explosions is about storytelling. This story varies wildly from the ones told by the fragrances that came before it. The instant you look at the presentation of the cologne, you’ll recognize why this product belongs on this list. The bottle is housed in a box constructed to look like a book. Within that box, the bottle itself looks like a book with a matte faux book cover.

Inside the "book," the scent introduces a radiant saffron note, an absolute rarity in the mainstream market and yet another reason this fragrance is a standout this year. Soon after, a distinctly floral rose makes its presence and, thanks to the blend of green apple, creates the essence of chilled wine. The apple isn’t as evident on its own in the early stages, only lending a signature sweet and sour brightness to the scent much later. As the hours pass, leather becomes prominent and finally, when the notes settle, the green apple takes over, transforming what was once a rosy vino into a leathery citrus scent.

It’s typical for a scent to open citrusy and dry down floral, but the peculiarity of Slow Explosions' backwards transformation makes it a fragrance that cannot be ignored.BUY NOW $95.00 at ImaginaryAuthors

Related Reading

Yves Saint Laurent L’Homme Ultime

With L’Homme Ultime, Yves Saint Laurent introduces a unique new take on the original release from 10 years earlier. Just as the original L’Homme became the standard-bearer of what a men’s fragrance should smell like in 2006, Ultime captures that same standard, but this time a decade later for the modern man.

L’Homme Ultime opens with a light juicy grapefruit and well-rounded ginger scent along with a spicy cardamom note, with a profound rose note not too far behind. This is far from a floral rose, but it captures the essence of the note in a way that blends smoothly with sage and geranium. It's here at the heart that the rose captures the attention of the people around the man wearing Ultime. The rose holds out until the end, when it eventually softens behind the woody cedar and vetiver notes. While it’s not a risk taker, L’Homme Ultime is unequivocally a progression that is not only worthy of its predecessors, but supersedes them.BUY NOW $95.99 at Amazon.com

Related Reading

Paco Rabanne 1 Million Privé

1 Million Privé, like all the 1 Million scents by Paco Rabanne, is a fragrance that makes a statement. Confident with a wild edge and cool with sophistication, Privé is a departure from the original 1 Million formulation while still managing to hold its place firmly within the 1 Million family. Not only does the scent stand apart from previous versions, but the bottle switches from all gold to gold accents on a copper base, making one of the most recognizable fragrance bottles stand out even more.

Retaining the cinnamon and blood mandarin of the original, the opening has an intense, juicy dessert-like quality to it. Tobacco and myrrh make appearances halfway through, adding to the cologne a truly rich quality. This combination holds through the entirety of the scent, only softening in the final hours. What really establishes 1 Million Privé as one of the best scents of 2016 is its use. This is not the 1 Million that made waves in clubs, but instead a new breed that finds itself making a splash in upscale bars. BUY NOW $69.96 at Amazon.com

Related Reading

Tom Ford Soleil Blanc

With this release, Tom Ford has introduced a scent that is worthy of recognition and praise. When planning to wear a beach scent, Soleil Blanc might not be the first thing that comes to mind, but captured inside this ivory bottle is the perfect essence of life on the beach. It accomplishes the rare feat of being a tropical scent without being citrusy. This practically guarantees the wearer will stand apart from the other beachgoers. Immediately upon being sprayed on, the fragrance clouds the air with notes of tuberose and coconut. It’s reminiscent of suntan lotion, except you’ll actually enjoy wearing this.

Soleil Blanc is soft, creamy, and seductive. As the hours pass, a delicately sweetened note of ylang-ylang makes its presence felt, adding to the fullness of the fragrance. The scent is strong and long-lasting, but not overbearing or overpowering. While the scent doesn’t shout, it makes a statement without demanding attention. There’s a certain poise that asserts itself with that kind of attention and further solidifies the value of Soleil Blanc.BUY NOW $225.00 at Nordstrom.com

Related Reading

Giorgio Armani’s Armani Code Profumo

When the original Armani Code was released, the slick black bottle with a matte graphite top quickly became a huge success. Soon after, flankers would hit the market, each building off of the original’s DNA. Then, in 2016, Giorgio Armani introduced Armani Code Profumo in a stylish, faded black-to-bronze bottle with a glossy bronze cap. The packaging instantly made it stand out from previous versions.

And the contrasting similarities with striking differences don’t stop at the bottle. With new citruses atop the original’s leathery tonka base, Armani Code Profumo introduces nutmeg and amps up the tonka, creating a much sweeter, more magnetic scent in this iteration.The addition of amber adds warmth, while cardamom brings spice. Though Profumo revisits the Armani Code, it doesn’t look back but instead brings an alluring new twist to the fragrance, creating an impeccably desirable scent for today's men.BUY NOW $71.98 at Amazon.com

Related Reading

Paco Rabanne Invictus Aqua

When the original Invictus was released, no one could have predicted that an aquatic fragrance with commanding sweet notes and only light marine undertones would have been so adored by men and women alike. It was daring and different for its fragrance category, a contrast from the marine-dominated aquatics people had come to expect. Paco Rabanne’s risk paid off and Invictus was a rousing success.

With its launch earlier this year, Invictus Aqua once again challenged expectations and far surpassed them, thus establishing its place as one of the best fragrances of the year. Keeping the championship motif of the original and housing the fragrance in a trophy shaped bottle, Invictus stays true to its original version, but the notes completely flip the script. Here the commanding notes create a salty oceanic seawater profile and the sweetness takes a backseat. However, the sweetness does not go unnoticed, as it is mixed in a perfect harmony of notes in a fragrance worthy of being in a trophy.BUY NOW $69.20 at Amazon.com

Related Reading

Robert Graham Fortitude

No other fragrance will get noticed in your fragrance wardrobe like Robert Graham’s Fortitude. This large decanter is emblazoned with Robert Graham’s signature on the bottom, but the most impressive head-turning part is the bottle cap, which features a ram’s head adorned with green Swarovski crystal eyes and the words “Truth. Knowledge. Wisdom.” engraved just below it. The man who likes to display his fragrance collection and make a statement should look no further than Fortitude. This is easily one of the best-designed bottles not just of this year, but of all time.

Equally as impressive as the bottle's design is the fragrance itself. Tobacco is a common note in many modern men’s fragrances, but few blend it so well as to place a spotlight on the tobacco without letting it get overbearing. Fortitude is one of the few. An ideal balance of notes give this fragrance an essence of tobacco without being smokey and a sweetness without being sugary. With only three notes of tobacco, patchouli and tonka bean, this Robert Graham fragrance is a rich, creamy powerhouse that calls to it the attention it deserves.BUY NOW $295.00 at Bloomingdales